Musical box case



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

H. 81; W. J. RILEY.

MUSICAL BOX CASE.

Fig.5.

i. $21M Y (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. 8v W. J. RILEY. MUSICAL BOX CASE.

N0.'537,362. Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

Fig: 7.

wlT nzsszs. INVENTORS 02M f {6:24. ZA/wm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY RILEY AND IVILLIAM JOSEPH RILEY, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

M U SlCAL-BOX CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,362, dated April 9, 1895,

Application filed January 22, 1894. Serial No. 497,675. (No modold Patented in England October 9, 1893, No. 18858.

T 0 ctZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HENRY RILEY and WILLIAM JOSEPH RILEY, trading as J OSEPH RILEY dz SONS, manufacturers of musical instruments, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Constitution Hill, in the city of Birmingham, England, have invented a certain new and useful Musical-Box Case; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and for which invention Letters Patent of Great Britain have been obtained, dated the 9th day of October, 1893. No. 18,858.

This invention relates to the cases of musical boxes or to the interior rest parts for the movements of them, and has for one of its objects, the intensifying of the sound of the said instruments, and for another of its objects, the enriching of the tone of the same, and fora further object, displaying the move ments, and rendering the same more visible when playing.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in front elevation a musical box case constructed and provided with improvements made according to our invention, and which said case consists primarily of a boxshaped inclosure having a turned-down and semicircular glazed front, and with the interior back of the same having an obliquely directed sounding board, open to the outside by a pierced back. Fig. 2 represents a cross section of the same upon the dotted lines a: 00, Fig. 1, showing the relative dispositions of the parts. Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section of the said case upon the dotted lines A B Fig. 2, while Fig. 4 represents a like cross section as Fig. 2, but with the glazed front or lid shown slightly opened. Figs. 5,6,7 and 8 are transverse vertical sectional views of different modifications in the construction of the musical box case.

In Figs. 1 to 4, a is the body of the case, with a semi-circularly curved and glazed front at a, wherethroughthe movement of the instrument in action is viewed and which front is hinged at (1 to a top part a supported from the back wall at, whose lower panel part a is pierced or left open, while the lower part of the semi-circular glazed front a", rests upon a shallow front d supported by a ho.-

tom a with ends a Located within the interiorof the said body part, and directed from the back to the bottom of the same, and over the pierced panel a, is an obliquely directed sounding-board or false back 5, upon which the movements of the instrument rest, and between it and the open panel back a is a soundingchamberc. Thesaid movementrest. or sounding board, which is a slanting or oblique panel preferably set at an angle of about forty-live degrees and fitted to the back of the case, preferably extends from end to end of the said case, and is arranged for the purpose of augmenting or increasing the sound of the said instrument and at the same time enriching its tone. Now this sounding board forms a vibratory and sound-condensing medium or surface, and the sound waves emanating from the movements are projected from the foci of it, and returned at right angles to the plane of the board and then made to fall upon other waves projected in horizontal and vertical directions through the walls of the casing. \Ve prefer that the said sounding board Z9, should be made of wood, but this may be varied and sheet metal employed in its stead.

The curved and glazed front, besides being a means of viewing without obstruction, the movements of the instrument, also serves as a means for radiating or deflecting the sound waves rearward.

Although the pierced panel to, which is removable, is shown placed at the back of the case, yet the same may obviously be made to constitute the bottom of the case.

Fig. 5 represents a modification of the said first arrangement. There is no inclosed sounding chamber, but the whole of the easing rear of the sounding board is left open. Thus, a is the body of the instrument; a, the glazed and turn-down front; a ,'the back, and (t the open space at the back of the sounding board I), which is directed from the back a to the bottom a Fig. 6 represents a further modification of our invention. The sounding board in this form is made to comprehend the whole of the bottom of the case and also the back of the v the curved and glazed front; a, the back, and

b the combined sounding board and bottom, with an open space at the back of it a inclosed at its ends by sides or'panels a.

Fig. 7 represents a still further modified form of our invention in which the sounding board is made either of metal or of stretched vellum, membrane or skin. a is the casing; a, the curved and glazed front; a the back; a the pierced panel; a", the front, and a is the bottom. 1) is the obliquely directed sounding board, diaphragm or sloping back with chamber 6, at the rear thereof.

The sounding board may be insulated or isolated from the back and bottom by interposed posts Z2.

Although we have shown our case with a turn-up and turn-down glazed front, yet the shape of the said casing may be changed, so as to make a case with rectangular sides, a glazed top and a sloping back Within the interior for the carrying of the movements.

Instead of the turn down front being made curved as in the previous figures it may be directed inclined and made flat as in Fig. 8.

Having fully described our invention, What We desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is- 1. As an article of manufacture, a musical box case consisting of an oblong box having the back, bottom and sides at right angles to each other and having an open inclined front provided with ahinged, inclined, glazed lid or cover and having an inclined sounding board and movement support extending from the back of the box to the bottom thereof, the case at the rear of the sounding board being open for the passage of sound, substantially as described.

2. A musical box case having the bottom, back and sides arranged at right. angles to each other and having a sounding board and movement support inclined rearwardly from the bottom to the back, so as to reflect the sound Waves outwardly and upwardly, and having a curved inclined front forming an arc to the chord of which said sounding board is parallel substantially as described.

3. A musical box case having a rearwardly inclined sounding board and movement support and a correspondingly inclined hinged cover or lid, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing We have hereunto set our hands this 19th day of December, 1893.

HENRY RILEY. \VILLIAM JOSEPH l-tllil lY.

Vitnesses:

HENRY SKERRETT, ARTHUR T. SADLER,

Both of Birmingham. 

